"We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to now…"

by Katie Gomez January 5, 2009

Cubans get many of their cultural traditions from either those lovely conquering Spaniards across the pond, or the Africans brought over on their slave ships. And we can actually thank Spanish grape growers for one in particular that we practice every New Year’s Eve. When grape growers in Alicante had a huge production surplus in […]

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"I'd eat peaches everyday, sun soakin' bulges in the shade…"

by Katie Gomez December 27, 2008

The process of modern food distribution is a gas. If you walk into a supermarket in February with a wind-burned face, kicking slush off your boots, you’ll find yourself surrounded by mountains of tropical fruits and vegetables that show their sweet faces every different month of the year. At any given moment, as you sit […]

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"Your silver tongue has turned to clay…"

by Katie Gomez December 18, 2008

You’d never know that I used to have a greeting card business if you were ever on the receiving end of my gift giving—I can’t stand most of the drivel out there, and hate blowing the money on something that gets tossed out with tomorrow’s junk mail. I inevitably either wind up making one (if […]

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"There's a little bit of fruitcake left in every one of us…"

by Katie Gomez December 16, 2008

Ask people what their favorite holiday is, and the answer you are most likely to get is either Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s usually followed by a litany of reasons why it tops their list of days to be unshackled from their office desk, including: I enjoy gathering with loved ones and sharing a meal, I […]

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"Skin me a peach, save the fuzz for my pillow…"

by Katie Gomez December 15, 2008

To completely experience a meal, one must engage all five of the senses. When you step into the kitchen, you can hear the sizzle of onions hitting a pan with olive oil; you can smell the veal shanks that have been slowly roasting in the oven for the last three hours; you are tantalized by […]

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“Oh yeah, give me a reason to love you…”

by Katie Gomez December 10, 2008

In a world where store shelves are dominated by chardonnay, merlot, cab and pinot noir, it’s next to impossible for consumers to find the likes of a scheurebe, a sagrantino or an erbaluce. And in that same world, these little-known wines are almost never reviewed in any of the major “drink what I drink” wine […]

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"You get a good thing goin', then you blow yourself out…"

by Katie Gomez December 8, 2008

Question: Exactly how much of a good thing do Americans have to have before they run it completely into the ground? Answer: Apparently, about 8 – 10 oz. If you stand anywhere in the heart of Manhattan (or any other major metropolis for that matter) and throw a lime wedge, you’re bound to hit a […]

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"I've crept into your temple, I have slept upon your pew…"

by Katie Gomez December 5, 2008

There are dozens of reasons to laud the French, but there are also dozens of reasons to chide them…The Hundred Years War and Beaujolais Nouveau being a couple. Every November, Parisians celebrate the release of that blasted banal grape juice, but thankfully there are other, more obscure, far older and much cooler gastronomic par-tays that […]

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"Don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to…"

by Katie Gomez December 3, 2008

Did you ever REALLY want to hate someone but just couldn’t? A time when every logical cell in your brain told you nothing good could possibly come of this, and the gloves were off without hesitation, only to have those fists gently pushed down? I had one of those last night. Suffice it to say […]

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"Is that all, there must be more than this…"

by Katie Gomez November 30, 2008

It’s a metaphor that only women will understand, but this review can be equated to losing your virginity. For so long you anticipate the moment, prepare for it, hunt down the “right guy”—the one that gave every indication by his looks and his discourse that he’d be amazing to experience—and take him home with giddy […]

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